Joy for a New Legend
by MomoMokuba
Summary: One shot stories centered around Naruto and Hinata, and their family. All take place after Naruto: The Last movie.
1. Joy for a New Legend

She gazed idly at the ceiling, resting one hand on her forehead, the other on her pregnant belly. It had been years since the fourth Great Shinobi war had ended. Just one year since her, and the love of her life, got married. Life could not have been better for the young shinobi. Everyday she felt as if she were going to burst with happiness. Life had resolved itself on its own within the past years. Or perhaps it wasn't life; that would be implying that this was simple fate. No, it definitely wasn't just fate that led her here. Naruto, her husband, is the cause of her happiness. He always has been, ever since she was a little girl. And now here she was in his, no, in _their_ house. Lying contentedly on their soft couch, enjoying the gentle warm breeze traveling through the room as she waits for her husband to return home.

Naruto was going to be an obvious choice for the 7th Hokage. Anyone in the village- no, in the world- knew that. Yet his former teacher, Kakashi, still felt as if he weren't completely ready to assume the position. Because of this Naruto often worked tirelessly to achieve his goal even quicker. It wasn't uncommon for Hinata to sleep alone, nor for Naruto to be gone multiple days, even weeks, on highly classified missions. Though she always missed him, she could never bring herself to object to these travels of his. She knew well that she was not the only being in this world that needed him, and she was more than willing to let everyone else share the happiness he constantly gave her. Today was not one of those dreaded days, though. He was not thousands of miles away in a foreign land fighting awful enemies; he was running errands for his wife so that she could rest. And he would be home very soon.

Hinata smiled at the thought. How sweet he was to constantly go out of his way for her. It differed greatly from his childhood, even teenagehood, where he seemed to barely notice her. That obviously was not the case. Naruto knew and loved everyone. He always had. Hinata had a tendency to lose herself in thought when others weren't around. But she was interrupted.

The door slammed open, startling her. "I'm home!" a not unusually obnoxious voice yelled.

She leaned forward slightly to see the yellow haired ninja grinning at her, his arms full of bags of who knows what. Before she had the chance to get up and help him, he quickly motioned for her to stay where she was as he closed the door with his foot, dropping the bags to the ground. Then, in a hurried rush, he rummaged through them and quickly brought their contents over to Hinata. He was obviously excited.

"Hinata!" He gasped, leaning down to nuzzle her neck. "How is my beautiful wife?"

She giggled, gently pressing her fingertips into his back. "I'm alright, what is it that you wanted to show me?"

He leaned over her excitedly, his eyes gleaming. "I found something!" He arranged the contents in his hands to present to her. In his hands he held a small orange blanket, and a purple pacifier. She couldn't help but to close her eyes and push her head back, giggling uncontrollably.

"What?!" He grinned, beginning to laugh with her as well.

She continued to giggle. "You are just so cute. Did you shop for the baby all day?"

Naruto smiled, laying down next to her, gently nuzzling her neck. "Maayyybbee…"

Hinata continued to giggle more before sighing happily. "Oh, I love you so much." The Hyuga embraced him tightly, relishing the moment he was in her arms.

Naruto rested his forehead lightly against hers. "How are you?"

She smiled, closing her eyes. "I'm well."

He then rested his hand on her growing belly. "How is he?!"

"He's well too, I believe." She smiled.

Naruto smiled back, gazing at his wife. How beautiful she was, and how lucky was he. He had everything he had ever wanted and so much more resting in his arms; it was overwhelming. Years ago, he would have never dreamt to be blessed with his own family, and now, he would never let anything take it away from him.

Their quiet moment was interrupted by a squeal from Hinata, and then from Naruto. She jolted suddenly in his arms.

Naruto looked at her, astonished. "Did he just…?"

Hinata began to laugh, tears of joy in her eyes. "He kicked us!"

Naruto gazed at her in disbelief. "He kicked?!"

Hinata nodded, amused.

And then, he was suddenly filled with energy. He quickly sat up. "That's my boy! Already fighting!" The yellow haired shinobi pressed his hand against her belly again. "Do it again! Give me the best you've got!" Hinata followed suite and sat up with her husband, placing her hand over his. As if on cue, the baby moved again, filling the young couple with delight.

This was only the beginning of the family's journey, as they would have many challenges, and many more joys to experience. But never would they trade small moments like it for anything.


	2. Cloistered Sleep

**2**

 **Cloistered Sleep**

He gazed at her sleepily.

So peaceful. So tranquil. So vulnerable.

He felt his heart swell up in his chest as he struggled to contain his emotions for his beautiful lover, lying so exposed next to him. How could he be so deserving of the unconditional love she constantly gave him? How could a being, so sweet and selfless, even exist in a world constantly filled with hate and selfishness? How could someone who has undeniably been through so many hardships be so pure and gentle? And how could she be in arm's reach of him?

Naruto shifted his body to support Hinata, letting her weight lean against him. Her sleep, so cloistered and peaceful, did not stir much to his relief. Yet he could not bring himself to close his eyes, or for that matter pull his gaze from her face. She was so utterly perfect, and she was there. He did not often wonder how he could have been so oblivious in his childhood. It wasn't like him to reminisce on past memories, good or bad. He only knew at this moment, that he wanted to give her everything. He wanted her to never feel pain or sadness as long as he were there. He wanted to always make her feel so happy and loved-

She gently shifted in his arms, and Naruto reflexively tightened his arms around her small body. She gently moaned his name. Even in her dreams, she only thought of him. Naruto smiled gently, pressing his forehead lightly against hers. He brought his hands up to the sides of her scalp and rubbed gently, letting his fingers tangle in that beautiful raven hair. He was undeniably sleepy. And she was about to make him let go to consciousness.

He whispered so gently against her lips.

"I love you."


	3. The Strongest Ninja

7:00 AM.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I can cancel, I just-"

"Hiiiinata!" He stopped himself, cringing. The kids were still sleeping, and the last thing Naruto wanted to do was wake up. Quietly he spoke, "Hinata, you need a day to yourself. I'll have everything under control here. What could possible go wrong?"

She looked at him skeptically.

He grinned, guiding her to the door. "It'll be okay. We'll be okay. You just relax all day and don't think about us at all- I'll take care of things."

Hinata sighed as the blonde opened the door, eagerly as always. "Call me if you need anything. Okay?"

"Mm. Yeah. Alright." He kissed his wife sweetly, before parting. "Have fun!"

And with that, she was off.

He grinned dumbly before turning around. It was early morning; perhaps the sun had just risen. In his youth he would have never been up before noon, especially on a rare day he did not have a mission. Well, now he was an adult. He was admired, he had a beautiful wife and two perfect children, and he also rarely slept or relaxed as much as he used to, but that was okay. The jinjuriki slowly circled his kitchen before entering the desolate living room. It was quiet, which wasn't surprising. It never got too rambunctious, but nonetheless he savored the peaceful feeling, gazing over Konoha as clouds began to gather in the sky.

"...Daddy?"

He turned to find his daughter, Himawari, rubbing her eyes and gripping her blanket. She was the spitting image of Hinata. It nearly always caught him off guard.

"Himawari? Why are you up so early?"

"Where is mommy?"

"Sweetie," He kneeled to face her, "Mommy's on an important mission today. She will be back later this evening, but it's very important that she has her full focus on her task so we won't bother her. Okay?"

She gazed at him with wide eyes before silently nodding. She was obviously still half asleep, but Naruto had very little hope of getting her back in bed for a couple more hours.

"Come on Hima, let's get you back in bed. Okay?"

She stubbornly stamped her feet. "No!"

Naruto half panicked, quickly placing a finger to his mouth in a hurried gesture to shush her. "Okay, okay! But let's at least be quiet, okay? Big brother is still sleeping." He grabbed her gently beneath the arms and lifted her up. Himawari smiled wide, dropping her blanket. That's okay, he thought, he would just get it later. "If you're going to stay awake, then I think it's bath time. Someone is stinky!"

Himawari giggled, "with bubbles?"

"Of course!"

His descent to the tub, however, was quickly interrupted by a much more awake-looking young boy.

"Oh! Look who is awake!" Naruto exclaimed, scooping up his son. "I swear sometimes I think you aren't my son…"

Both of his children fell into a fitful laughter as he struggled to grip both of them in a comfortable way. Sure, he was one of the strongest ninja on the planet. But kids are heavy.

After a few minutes of struggling, he was successfully able to fill the tub up to the perfect height, with the perfect temperature, and maybe just a little too many bubbles. And by a little, the tub was overflowing with them. What was partly credited to Boruto suddenly jumping on his father's back, causing Naruto to drop the entire bottle of soap. This, of course, caused no dismay to his children, who both hurriedly undressed and jumped in causing water and bubbles to slosh over the sides of the tub. Naruto desperately tried to shampoo their hair, but once the kids realized they could easily make waves by simultaneously shifting their body weight, Naruto's attention was shifted solely to trying to clean up the massive amount of water on the floor.

"Okay! That's enough of that." He groaned, lifting his children out of the tub. He wrapped each one in a fluffy white towel.

"Yup, nevermind. Definitely my children." He sighed.

He managed to quickly resolve the water issue by dropping a massive amount of towels on the floor and using his feet to quickly soak up the water. "I'll pick these up later," he thought, turning around. His children were no longer there, but their towels were.

"Boruto! Himawari!" He shouted, running into the hallway. He barely managed to glimpse a bare butt run into his bedroom.

Although it was a mere second before he cleared the doorway, Boruto had already managed to climb onto his bed and was rolling in white satin sheets. It must have seemed like quite an effective way to dry himself.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Naruto gasped, lunging for the boy. "Those are Mommy's sheets! We don't get those wet!" He lifted up the boy, "Where is Hima?"

Boruto was laughing too hard to answer.

Naruto sighed and headed back to the hallway. Meanwhile, Boruto's squirming was causing him to get soaked as well. "Himawari?!"

He was answered with a loud crash coming from the kitchen.

"Hima?!" He gasped, clearing the corner (while still managing to maintain a death grip on his son). He was awarded with the sight of his naked child standing in a pool of broken eggs and tears in her eyes.

Despite wanting to scold the two, he couldn't help but to laugh.

"Oh, Hima. It's not breakfast time yet. Okay you too, enough play time. It's time to get dressed." He put down his son, instructing him strictly to remain in sight, and wiped Himawari's feet off. "Okay, now you two follow Daddy into your room."

They did as they were told. Finally, something was going right. Now he just had to quickly dress them and make food, and the rest of the day would hopefully be a breeze. He quickly fastened their diapers and dressed them in some questionable fashionable attire before taking the combs to their hair, which was nearly the same length. That didn't go too well. At least this time only one of them cried.

Naruto then gracefully guided them to the kitchen where he strapped them in their appropriate high chairs. He quickly grimaced at the pile of broken eggs on the floor. "Yeah...I'll clean that up later."

He pulled out the various fruits stored in their refrigerator and chopped up a decent portion for each of his children. The blonde then sat quietly across table as Boruto and Himawari happily chowed down on their breakfast. He was so exhausted. Glancing at the clock, it was only 9:30.

"Daddy?" His blonde haired son squeaked.

"Boruto?" He answered hesitantly.

"Who was the strongest ninja you've ever fought?!" Boruto exclaimed, pounding his fists against the table. At least only some food went flying. The grin plastered on his face was too cute for Naruto to care all that much.

"Oh? The strongest ninja?" Naruto brought his fingers to his chin in an overly-exaggerated thinking pose. Boruto and Himawari leaned forward in anticipation. "Well, kids, there are a lot of strong ninjas out there. But the best ninjas are not those who are only strong, but are smart, too. They are the ones that studied in school and paid attention to their books." That was a blatant lie. He knew so many, including himself, that did amazing without school. "

Boruto cocked his head, "But the strongest?"

Naruto chuckled. "Well, one time me and Mommy fought a big monster man. I...I almost died- uh, I mean he almost beat me. A very strong, very smart ninja saved me."

Himawari grinned. "Really, Daddy? Who was he?"

Naruto smiled gently. "Your uncle, Neji." (Neji was technically their cousin, but formality aside he had always been considered more of a sibling to Naruto's wife) The children were born long after that day, and although they did not know much about their late uncle, they knew he was gone. It was an early, necessary lesson about death for the both of them. Gone, but always family.

Boruto scrunched up his face in bemusement. "But uncle Neji is in the ground…"

"Boruto, Himawari," Naruto began, "Yes. But uncle Neji wasn't always in the ground. He used to be my friend. He was like a brother to Mommy. And Neji was so, so smart. He was so strong. And most importantly, Neji was kind. I fought him when I was just a little older than you, Boruto."

"Did you win!?" His son grinned.

"Yes, eventually. But that is a story for another time." Naruto laughed, and quickly regained his composure. "Neji was defeated that day. So many people would say he wasn't the strongest ninja. But he did something not a lot of ninjas could ever do...so to me, he is the strongest ninja."

The blonde smiled at his kids as they stared at him in wonder.

"Well! It looks like you guys are done with breakfast. How about we get you out of those chairs and break out some toys?"

They children quickly went wild, "Play time! Play time! Play time!"

* * *

7:00 PM.

The rattling of keys echoed gently through the house as the front door slowly crept open. The raven-haired girl placed her bags on the nearby table while scanning her surroundings. The entrance area was dimly lit and a little too quiet. Worried, she paced quickly to the kitchen.

Her day truly was peaceful, and she spent it honestly on herself. Her hair felt soft after a needed trim, her nails were now square and had a fresh coat of blue paint on them. She even treated herself to a new summer dress. She almost felt shameful of enjoying the relaxation so much.

It didn't last long, though. As she arrived in the kitchen she immediately found a pile of broken eggs and footprints on the floor, accompanied the dirty plates cluttering the table. It was dark, however, and still oddly quiet. She continued to the living room, which had an ungodly amount of toys spread across the floor and the seating. A few picture frames here and there were knocked over. Her descent into the hallway was no better. And she couldn't help but to see all of their towels sitting in a jumble on the bathroom floor. Finally, she arrived to her bedroom. She paused for a moment, wondering if she truly wanted to open that door.

She did.

Well, it wasn't too bad. Nothing was knocked over, and no toys seemed to find their way past the door, but she couldn't help but to notice her husband, clothes covered in paint and dirt, passed out on the bed. Oh, and when she laid her hand upon the bed it was also damp. She didn't want to think of the reason for that.

But where were her kids?

She hurriedly turned around and burst into their bedroom, only to find that they too were sleeping peacefully. Yes, their room was also an utter mess but Hinata could tell they were exhausted from an eventful day. She smiled gently and turned.

"Mommy?"

Hinata gasped quietly, turning around. Her daughter was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Hinata said nothing as she quietly walked to sit on the edge of her bed, allowing her daughter to lean her head against her mother's lap.

"How was your mission?"

"It went well," Hinata smiled. "You should sleep. You had an eventful day, I'm sure."

Himawari yawned. "I heard a story today."

"Really?" Her mother whispered. "Did Daddy tell it to you?"

"Yeah." She paused. "He told us of the strongest ninja."

Hinata giggled. "And who would that be?"

"Uncle Neji."

Hinata looked at her daughter in unexpected shock. She was fully expecting her daughter to start praising her father, Neji had not been spoken of in quite some time.

Himawari continued, "he said that uncle Neji was so smart and kind, and that is why he is strong. He saved you and daddy."

Hinata was smiling. She didn't notice the tear rolling down her cheek until it fell upon her daughter's head. "Yes. Yes he did, Himawari. He was the strongest."

She gently kissed her daughter's forehead and tucked her in bed, exiting the room quietly. She was still smiling as she entered the kitchen. She was surprised to find her husband bending over cleaning up eggs, and when he noticed her he was equally surprised.

"Hinata!" He sprang up, lurching towards her. "Hey! How was your day? Oh, this here...yeah, don't worry about that! Okay? We had a bit too much fun here...hehe..he…"

She shook her head gently in amusement and pulled her silly husband into a long embrace. He felt so guilty. This was her day off and she shouldn't be coming home to a mess.

"Naruto," She smiled. "It's okay. Let's just relax and clean up tomorrow."

He glanced at her to make sure she was genuine before relaxing. "I can clean it now…"

"No," She began, pulling his hand towards their room. "I missed you."


End file.
